Long Live Storytelling

I love the tradition of storytelling and believe it is the best way to communicate ideas and thoughts. Storytelling is the ancient art of conveying events in words, images, and sounds often by improvisation or embellishment, according to Wikipedia. Great storytelling is also a pillar of effective leadership.

In today’s world, we gravitate to stories, either knowingly or not. A motion picture, documentary on TV or feature on NPR will weave and tell and sweep us up into a story.

The craft of storytelling in today’s world works to engage nearly everyone, from individuals to major organizations. If you have an interesting and memorable story to tell, chances are you will get an audience. A small but growing number of companies are using storytelling to cut through competitive clutter and get attention far faster and more effectively than attempting the traditional - and very outdated - method of pushing slogans and self-promotion at audiences. But making the transition is a bumpy road - organizations are not accustomed to communicating their products, services, vision or expertise as a story.

As I have written often, journalists are paid to write stories, not to try to interpret or to glean a possible story out of press releases. Releases today have become so self-serving and inward in their approach that they are the opposite of storytelling. If an organization wants to get media attention and become seen as a leader, they must stop shoveling out news releases … which are rarely legitimate news, anyway … and should concentrate on learning storytelling skills. Steve Jobs at Apple is a fabulous example of a corporate leader who is a great storyteller. He communicates and shares his vision through stories. Very few CEOs have such skills.

Among the many rewards of the Internet era is the resurgence of the craft of storytelling … storytelling in many forms. Personal blogs and Twitter are evolving into contemporary types of storytelling. “Tell me a story …” Many of us has said those words since childhood, and are today just as interested in hearing a story.

I predict the time will come when traditional public relations agencies and services are replaced by consultants and a new forms of agencies that will have the skills to teach effective storytelling.

My friend Barney Leith in England has called my attention to an interesting feature about storytelling that recently appeared in London’s Telegraph newspaper … that stories will never die. Click here to read it.